Ulaanbaatar, the most polluted capital in the world

Mongolia It is a distant landlocked Asian country that was under the orbit of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Its capital is Ulaanbaatar And although it is not one of the most touristic destinations on the continent, more and more adventurers dare to make the long journey there.

If you like eternal routes and distant destinations, you are not afraid of long plane trips or places where Spanish or English is not spoken, then Ulaanbaatar is waiting for you. This article will help you on your adventure.

Ulaanbaatar, capital city

Mongolia it is between Central Asia and East Asia and its neighbors are nothing more and nothing less than Russia and China. That has given it several eventful chapters in its history, invasions, brief independencies and a lot of dependence on its always powerful neighbors. Thus, it is one of the countries that became communist very shortly after the October Revolution of 1917 since in 1924 the People's Republic of Mongolia was declared and a communist regime adopted.

This type of government will continue for much of the XNUMXth century until the fall of the Soviet Union when it is simply called Mongolia. It is a huge country, large in size, but at the same time it is hardly populated since that terrain is often too fierce: the Gobi desert, endless steppes, mountains ...

Ulaanbaatar is the capital and means the name Red Hero, in honor of a hero of the republican foundation. It is in the north of the country, in a valley formed by several mountains, and a river crosses it. In a huge but sparsely populated country, the bulk of the population is concentrated here, being at the same time the cultural, political and economic center.

It was founded in 1639 But it adopted the city skyline in the XNUMXth century, and already under Soviet rule it copied the communist, gray, monumental, boring architectural style. But the close relations between Mongolia and the Soviet Union led to the construction of cinemas, theaters, factories, museums and a major train station on the Moscow-Beijing route, the Trans-Mongolian. Unfortunately, the other side of the coin was the destruction of many ancient Buddhist temples and monasteries.

We already know that the Fall of the Wall marked the end of a bipolar world and the advancement of a single political and economic ideology. Without balance, it was capitalist globalization that spread throughout the world and also arrived here. First, the changes and growth were evident for the city as many people from the interior moved to the city, but another era was beginning for Ulaanbaatar.

Ulaanbaatar and tourism

What you visit will always depend on the time you have. If you're only going to be there one day, you have to get up early and visit the following places: Gandan Monastery, National Historical Museum, Sukhbaatar Square with Genghis Khan Monument, Zaisan Hill Memorial, Buddha Garden and attend some national folklore show and visit handicraft shops on cashmere.

La Sukhbaatar Square is the heart of the city because there are two important statues: one is that of Genghis Khan, Mongol warrior and conqueror who unified the tribes and founded an empire that even reigned over China. The other statue is that of Damdin Sukhbaatar, the one who gave the city its name, Red Hero, erected on the same site where a horse urinated during a Red Army meeting.

El Museum of Natural History It is a very interesting site if you like dinosaur fossils or meteorites fallen on Mongolian soil. There are also exhibits that traverse the history of the country from prehistoric times to the present day and which of course include the glory of the Mongol Empire.

As for the few monasteries and sanctuaries that have remained after the antireligious movement of the 30s, we can see the Chojin Lama Monastery, completed at the beginning of the 1942th century and turned into a museum in XNUMX. The Gandan monastery It is from the XNUMXth century and has a golden statue that stands just over 26 meters tall and represents Migjid Janraisig, the bodhisattava of compassion, highly revered in the Buddhist world. It's Kannon for the Japanese, for example.

Zaisan Hill has a memorial. It is south of the city and was built by the Russians in honor of the Soviet soldiers who died in WWII. In Mongolia the Russians had a difficult battle with the Japanese in which an estimated 45 Japanese and 17 Russians died. Finally the first ones gave up. There is a mural inside a huge, five meter high concrete ring.

You get here by walking 20 minutes up the hill and of course it offers very good views of the city since you can appreciate the size of it, see the Tuulu River, the factories and the different neighborhoods. Even if you like natural life and walking and you have a good weather day from here you can take a hike through the Portegida Area of ​​Bogd Khan Uul, behind the memorial.

Of all the palaces that the city once had, only the Bogd Khan Winter PalaceToday museum of the last mongolian king. It is inside a larger complex with six temples and displays the belongings of the king and his wife.

Finally there is the Buddha garden with a statue of Buddha that was erected in 2007 and is 18 meters high. Until recently the park was lonely and the statue was imposing but a commercial complex of tall buildings has been built.

But we said that Ulaanbaatar is the most polluted capital city in the world. Why? It is that the development of the city does not care its skies. People burns coal and wood To fight against winter, whose nights can reach -40ºC, thermal power plants work at their maximum, releasing gases into the atmosphere and cars spit more pollution through their exhaust pipes.

Pollution is important, the index of particles in suspension marks more than 500 per cubic meter, that is to say 25 times more than the World Health Organization recommends. Thus, the air is unbreathable and respiratory diseases. Does the government do something? It has begun to do, yes, and sells at a subsidized price efficient stoves-cookers that stop harmful emissions, in addition to offering electricity at lower prices so that there is no burning of coal. Hybrid cars have also started to circulate, the Toyota Prius, for example. Hopefully it works out.

Of course Ulaanbaatar is just the gateway to vast and beautiful Mongolia. Don't stay there, open that door to adventure.


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